Never Speak with an Insurance Adjuster Without a Tampa Personal Injury Lawyer
People file personal injury lawsuits in Tampa, Florida all of the time. While personal injury lawsuits flow through the courtrooms of Tampa nearly every day, some personal injury cases never go to court. In fact, that’s how most insurance companies would prefer it. That’s why so many insurance companies dish out lowball settlement offers after an accident has occurred in hopes of deflecting the possibility of having to pay you a lot more money in a formal lawsuit.
Consequently, talking with an insurance adjuster by yourself after an accident is never a good idea, here’s why.
What Happens After an Accident
To understand why it’s so important to have a Tampa personal injury lawyer present when talking with an insurance adjuster after an accident, you’ll need to take a look at what usually happens after an accident has occurred.
In a simple traffic accident, for example, it’s common practice to exchange insurance information with the other driver. If the other driver was at fault, you can sue for damages. Before filing a lawsuit, the other driver’s insurance company will try to deescalate the situation and limit their costs by presenting a settlement offer.
If you accept the settlement offer you’ll receive a payment without having to go to war in court. While this might seem like a win on the surface, you would be giving up the chance to pursue tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.
There’s a reason why the insurance company wants you to accept their settlement offer right away instead of taking them to court. It’s because if they go to court, they could lose and if they did, they would have to pay you a much larger amount.
Going back to what typically happens after an accident, aside from exchanging insurance information, there will be medical bills to pay. After your injuries have been assessed, there will be medical services that have to be paid for.
In many cases, it’s common to experience some form of mental or emotional trauma after having an accident. When you’re surrounded by medical bills and suffering from physical pain, emotional trauma, or both because of someone else’s negligence, you deserve compensation.
Personal injury cases don’t always involve traffic accidents. Many people are able to file personal injury lawsuits for other types of accidents like a slip-and-fall accidents, for example. Medical malpractice also falls under the sphere of personal injury law.
Additionally, if you were injured by a dangerous or defective product, you can sue the manufacturer of that product for damages. Other personal injury lawsuits are filed against places of employment for failing to maintain safe working conditions. If you were injured at the workplace due to unsafe working conditions, you can sue.
When an insurance company is involved, they won’t want you to file a formal lawsuit, they’ll try to placate you before going to court, but they won’t offer much in return.
Why The Insurance Adjuster Is Not Your Friend
After suffering from an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, it’s understandable to want to just go with the flow without making a fuss. Understandable as it may be, would be a mistake to be that complacent.
You need to understand that the insurance adjuster is not your friend. They are not in the business of doling out more money than they have to. That’s not their job. The insurance adjuster will endeavor to come to an arrangement in which the insurance company has to pay as little money as possible.
It’s common for insurance adjusters to use deceitful tactics to minimize the amount of money the insurance company has to pay you. They are notorious for trying to dissuade people who have been in an accident from contacting an attorney.
In some cases, the settlement offer the adjuster gives you will be so low, that it’s insulting. If you’re given a settlement offer of only a thousand dollars or so when suffering from a broken leg after a car accident, you should be insulted and you should take them to court.
Don’t Communicate with the Insurance Adjuster Without a Tampa Personal Injury Attorney
If you negotiate with an insurance adjuster on your own, you could miss out on thousands of dollars in compensation. Most insurance adjusters will attempt to contact you as soon as possible after the accident has occurred.
While it might seem like they are contacting you so quickly because they’re concerned about you, their only concern is persuading you to accept a settlement offer without consulting with an attorney.
Another thing you should know is that the insurance adjuster may try to trick you into making certain statements while being recorded. When you’re talking with an insurance adjuster, you have to be extremely careful about what you say. If they can take something you say and use it to their advantage, they will.
The most important thing to keep in mind when dealing with an insurance adjuster after a recent accident is to refuse to sign anything without an attorney present. Talking with an insurance adjuster by yourself is one thing, but signing a document can be much more injurious to your case.
Your chances of receiving the full compensation you deserve go down every time you talk to the insurance adjuster without representation. Don’t call up the insurance adjuster and tell them you’re going to sue them, leave the communication and negotiation to a professional Tampa personal injury lawyer.
Get in Touch with the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine and Go for the Gold
You know that you deserve proper compensation so go for it! If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence and you can prove they were at fault, it’s time to go for the gold, with Anidjar & Levine, one of the most highly respected law firms specializing in personal injury cases in the Tampa area. They’ll fight harder for you than any other law firm in Tampa and they won’t charge you unless you win.
Need a Tampa personal injury lawyer? Call the law offices of Anidjar & Levine!